Advice for landlords and agents

Please read the latest advice from the government on lowering the risk of Covid-19 transmission. 

We regulate housing and public health conditions in housing, in the borough. This is to ensure that residents have healthy homes to live in. We can take enforcement action against people that own, live in or rent properties. We most commonly take action against landlords. This usually follows complaints by tenants if they have not been able to resolve an issue with them.

We can take action against you if you fail to carry out essential repairs or maintenance to keep properties safe. Priority is given to cases where tenants are being put at risk.

If a tenant makes a complaint about their home or their landlord, we will usually inspect the property. When doing this, we use the Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to identify what, if any, hazards exist and how serious these hazards are.

After an inspection, officers will decide on what type of action, if any, is appropriate. There are six possible outcomes:

• No further action - where, following an initial investigation, the complaint cannot be substantiated
• Informal action - written warnings and/or providing advice is usually the first option if there is a problem and those involved are willing to co-operate
• Formal notices - we may issue formal notices, for example, an improvement notice to force a landlord to carry out repairs
• Works in default - if essential works are not done by a landlord, we may do them instead to ensure safety and then recover the costs from the landlord. We may still decide to prosecute the landlord
• Cautions/interviews under caution - if we issue a simple caution but this is ignored by the alleged offender, we will review the case and decide if other action is required
• Prosecution - before starting any prosecution proceedings, we must be satisfied that there is a realistic prospect of conviction and that it is in the public interest to prosecute

Each case is considered on its merits and against the principles set out in our Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy.

The Deregulation Act 2015 introduced some changes to the "no fault" possession process under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.  This is the process for ending an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) without having to specify a ground for possession.  It is an illegal eviction if you evict a tenant without following this process correctly.

For more information on your rights and responsibilities as a landlord please read the Guidance on the possession process.

It is recommended that you obtain legal advice before starting possession proceedings.

Tenancy deposit

You cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice to end an AST when a deposit paid in relation to the tenancy has not been protected in a government authorised scheme.

HMO licence

You cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice to end an AST if the property should be licenced but you have not applied for one.

Information you must give the tenant

Before a valid Section 21 notice can be served, you must have given the tenant:

• a current gas safety certificate
• an energy performance certificate (except for individual rooms in a House in Multiple Occupation)
• the latest version of the government leaflet How to rent (for ASTs granted after 1 October 2015).

You can email the leaflet, if the tenant has given you an email address and agreed you can use the email address for that purpose.

How you must give notice

You must use the notice seeking possession of a property let on an assured shorthold tenancy (6A)at GOV.UK to serve notice on a tenant.

You must use this form for tenancies that started after 1 October 2015. You can also use it for tenancies that started before this date.

When you can give notice

You cannot serve the notice within four months of:

• the start of the tenancy
• the start of the original tenancy, where the original tenancy expired and a new one was issued.

The expiry date on the notice no longer has to be the last day of a period of the tenancy. The minimum notice period is currently 2 months.

When you must make the application to court

After the Section 21 notice expires, you must make the application to the court within four months of the expiry date on the notice.

Rent refund

You must refund rent to the tenant if you end a tenancy under Section 21 before the end of the period of tenancy and the tenant has paid rent in advance for that period.

The tenant has a right to be refunded rent they've already paid for the days they won't be living in the property. This amount will be calculated pro rata.

If you haven't refunded the rent when the court makes a possession order under Section 21, the court will order you to pay the amount of rent the tenant is due.

Notice served after the tenants complain

If the AST was granted or renewed after 1 October 2015 you can not serve a Section 21 notice on a tenant for six months if the local council has served you with:

• an improvement notice under Sections 11 or 12 of the Housing Act 2004
• a notice of emergency remedial action under Section 40(7) of the Housing Act 2004.

In addition, a Section 21 notice will not be valid if the tenant made a complaint, in writing, to you about the condition of the property before the Section 21 notice was given and:

• you did not send the tenant a written response to the complaint within 14 days of the date the complaint was made or
• you sent the tenant an inadequate written response to their complaint and
• the tenant then made a complaint to their local council.

The tenant does not have to make the complaint in writing if they do not know your postal or email address. If a tenant tries to contact you to complain but can not get hold of you they do not have to give you 14 days to respond. They can complain to their local council without waiting for a response from you.

When the restrictions don't apply

These restrictions on serving notice under Section 21 do not apply when:

• you gave the tenant notice because they didn't carry out their responsibilities as a tenant, such as paying the rent or looking after the property;
• the property is on the market for sale and you are not planning to sell it to someone you know;
• you are a private registered provider of social housing;
• a mortgage lender, or a receiver appointed by the mortgage lender to act on behalf of you, has repossessed your property and needs it to be vacant to sell it.

For more information read the Retaliatory Eviction and the Deregulation Act 2015.
 

Since 1 October 2014 all letting and property management agents are required to be registered with a Government approved Redress Scheme. Any tenant who is unsatisfied with the service they are receiving can request the matter be investigated by the Redress Scheme.  There are two approved schemes that an agent can choose to be a member of.  Each one has a search function for a tenant to identify which scheme they need to contact.  They are:

• The Property Ombudsman (TPO)
• The Property Redress Scheme

Any agent not a member of one of these schemes may face a fine of £5,000 from the local authority.
 

Landlords are required to:

• install a smoke alarm on every floor of their property
• test the alarm(s) at the start of every tenancy
• install a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms with solid fuel burning appliances
• failure to complete these requirements may result in a fine of up to £5,000.

Read the Government's explanatory booklet for landlords about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
 

If a private tenancy starts on or after 1 February 2016 landlords must check that their tenant or lodger has the legal right to rent a property in England. The check:

• must be carried out within 28 days before the start of a new tenancy
• must be made for anyone aged 18 and over that is occupying the premises as their only or main home.

Please note: this check applies to the named tenants listed in the tenancy agreement and those who are residing in the property, but not listed in the agreement.

A landlord can be fined up to £3,000 for a renting a property to someone who is not allowed to rent in England.
 

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are needed whenever a property is:

• built
• sold
• rented

You must provide an EPC to potential buyers and tenants before you market the property. Since 1 April 2016, tenants have the right to request consent to carry out energy efficiency measures and these may not be unreasonably refused by their landlords.

From 1 April 2018 legislative changes mean it is unlawful to let out residential properties with an EPC Rating of F or G (i.e. the lowest 2 grades of energy efficiency) unless the property has been registered on the PRS Exemptions Register.

Landlords for these properties should now improve the energy efficiency of their properties if they have not already done so or register an exemption.

For more information about EPCs or how to obtain one, please visit the EPC Register website.
 

Landlords must have the electrical installations in their properties inspected and tested every 5 years.

Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations came into force in June 2020. They apply to:

• all new tenancies granted from 1 July 2020

• all existing tenancies from April 2021

You must make sure you:

• Meet national electrical safety standards, which are set out in the 18th edition of the 'Wiring Regulations'
• Get a report from the person doing the inspection and test and set a date for the next inspection and test
• Supply a copy of this report to the existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection and test
• Supply a copy of this report to a new tenant before they move in
• Supply a copy of this report to any prospective tenant within 28 days of receiving a request for the report
• Supply the local authority with a copy of this report within 7 days of receiving a request for a copy
• Keep a copy of the report to give to the inspector and tester who will carry out the next inspection and test
• Complete the work within 28 days if the report shows that work is needed
• Give written confirmation of the completed work from the electrician to the tenant and council within 28 days of finishing the works.

Please send your electrical safety certificates to privatesectorhousing@waverley.gov.uk

If there is a breach of the regulations

If there is a breach of the regulations but no urgent action is required, we will serve a remedial notice. The notice will state the breach and action to be taken.

You can make representations against the notice within 21 days from the date it is served. This will suspend the notice until we have considered it. If we do not receive any representations, or the notice is confirmed, you have a duty to follow it.

lf there is no appeal or the notice is upheld or varied, the works must be carried out within 28 days of the decision.

If urgent action is needed

Where urgent action is needed and we believe you are in breach of your duty to carry out works, we can do this work (with the consent of the tenants).

We will have to serve a notice, setting out:

• the work required

• the date the work was or will be started

• the right to appeal the notice.

For more guidance on the regulations, see Guide for Landlords on Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector